According to a report released this week by Coresight Research, about half of US customers have urged retailers to cut back on sourcing from China. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-fifths of those American consumers were less willing to buy products made in China. This was the first time the weekly survey of the retail research firm questioned U.S. customers about their feeling in the aftermath of the pandemic about products manufactured in China.
The most recent survey also pointed to the continued challenges facing US retailers as the US economy reopens—over three-fifths of consumers expect the crisis to last for more than six months. Just as the issue of sustainability is no longer an afterthought in the fashion industry, the coronavirus outbreak has again highlighted the vulnerabilities facing a global supply chain driven often only by lowest costs and over-dependence on China, known as the world’s factory and the biggest source of imported goods to the US. The coronavirus pandemic is drawing attention to how the U.S. and other economies rely on vital manufacturing and global supply chains that depend on China-based demand, the non-partisan think tank Congressional Research Service said in an April survey.
